Hong Kong: Court of Final Appeal recognises the multiple derivative action

Where a subsidiary (or sub-subsidiary) of a parent company has suffered harm, can a shareholder of the parent company bring a derivative action on behalf of the subsidiary? This question has been considered in Waddington Ltd v Chan Chun Hoo Thomas and others [2008] (FACV 15/2007) by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. The Court held that such a derivative action (often known as a double or multiple derivative action) could be brought. In doing so the Court provided what appears to be the first reasoned decision concerning this matter by a higher court in any common law jurisdiction outside of the USA.